Ranma 1/2, High School DxD, Darkstalkers and the rest are owned by their respective owners. I own nothing.

If only I did.

Chapter 10

"I have one question," Azazel spoke up after Puck disappeared. "What the hell were you doing grabbing him by his throat if you were so terrified of him?"

Ranma sighed softly and closed his eyes. "Once I knew what he wanted, I knew he wasn't there to just fuck around with us. If he has a reason to be here, you can get away with a bit more. But if he's just here to mess around, then he's a lot easier to annoy, just ask Issei." He didn't even open his eyes as he felt Yasaka next to him as she hugged him tightly.

As soon as Ranma said Issei's name, the dog glowed red and Issei returned to normal, though he was in a crouching position. "Holy crap!" Issei gasped and fell backwards as Akeno and Xenovia hugged him. "That was terrifying."

"Yeah," Lilith nodded as she smiled at Hayate, "and the worst part is, Puck isn't even that strong of a Fae." She sighed at the shouts of disbelief that she was getting from the others on the call. "He's strong, but he's about average as far as a Fae is concerned. No, the real problems are the three he mentioned."

"Oberon, Titania and Mab?" Rossweisse asked as she tried to remember what had been said.

"Queen Mab," Ophis spoke up, "a Fae so powerful she might as well be a mutant. Back before my soul was split in half, I could have faced her with some difficulty."

"That's... Scary as what humans think Hell is." Azazel muttered as he thought about something so powerful that even the Infinite Dragon God, at her strongest, would have trouble with it. "And what of the other two?"

"From what I know about Lady Titania," Ranma said as he stroked Yasaka's back, "her power is formidable among the Fae, only a few, like Queen Mab, are stronger. But what's truly terrifying is that she has a sharp mind and a sharper tongue. What the old man told me was that she can manipulate people to do whatever she wants."

"For the sake of relative comparison..." Azazel spoke up, "can you compare Puck with Queen Mab and Titania using people or things that we know?"

"Um..." Ranma frowned in thought. "If I had to say... Puck to Titania and Queen Mab would be like comparing Irina to Metatron and Michael."

"Oh..." More than one person said at the same time, instantly understanding the difference in power.

"What about Oberon then?" Yukiko asked as she looked between the screen and Ophis. Seeing Ranma, Lilith and Ophis all quiet, she gulped. "He's that much stronger?"

"You need to know what a Fae is." Ophis told Yukiko. "The Fae are old spirits, they existed on this world back when the Ancient Gods of Old did. Like Dragons, they're beings of pure magical energy."

"But unlike most Dragons," Ranma spoke up, "they actually know how to use their magic power. Most Dragons are happy to use whatever breath weapon, their bodies and whatever power they innately have."

Suddenly a multi-colored gem formed on the back of Issei's left hand. "I find that offensive." D'draig spoke up, "even if it's not completely inaccurate."

Ranma suddenly smirked as a thought came to him. "Hey, D'draig, didn't you say that Sen, a mid-level Dragon, was someone that you never liked fighting back in the day?"

"Yes." D'draig answered him. "That Dragon was annoying to fight, spells of all sorts flying around, attacks that no Dragon should ever have and just being a pain in the tail to face. Sen was always able to punch above... What gender is Sen right now?"

"Last I checked, Sen's female right now." Ranma told him. "And I get it, she punched above her weight class. If she made you dislike fighting her, she's plenty strong. And you know why?"

"I have a feeling, but explain for everyone." D'draig answered.

Ranma blinked a few times before muttering something that no one caught. "She managed to use the vast magical power of a Dragon in ways that most of you couldn't do. Now imagine an entire species of beings like Sen, only curious and malicious and that's the Fae."

"Fae and the Super Ancient Gods of old didn't like each other," Ophis spoke up, "but there was hardly any interaction. That changed when Queen Mab became the leader of the Fae. She decided to wage a war against the Super Ancient Gods, declaring that the world was for the Fae."

"How could they have a chance?" Rias asked Ophis.

"Most Gods, like humans, dominate the world and force the world to bend to their will." Ophis explained, "the Fae are so in tune with nature that they can get nature to do what they want without dominating it. Their magic is much stronger as a result."

"That would explain why Raven was able to create those hands out of the castle walls then." Cologne muttered.

"The Ancient Gods created Gogmagogs, golems with the express purpose of destroying the Fae." Ophis continued. "With the power of the Ancient Gods and Gogmagogs, the Fae were facing extinction... Until HE appeared."

"Lord Oberon." Lilith said with a shiver. "He's so far beyond Queen Mab it's not funny. Anything any of the Fae can do, he can do, but on a much larger scale."

"He doesn't even need to chant for his spells." Ophis continued, "it was like creation itself decided that it wanted an avatar and impregnanted Queen Mab. He single-handedly stopped the war. But after defeating the golems, he simply forced the Fae to retreat. It was right around the time humans..." Ophis frowned in confusion. "They started making iron weapons."

"The iron age?" Azazel asked and Ophis nodded. "...Why would he retreat from the world?"

"Humans were poisoning the world and it was hurting the Fae." Ophis told him. "That's all I know, it's been thousands of years since he was last seen."

"I've met him." Ranma said and the others, except Lilith, looked at him in shock. "He's powerful. If he was living in this world full time, he'd be up in the middle of the ten strongest, maybe in the top three. Humans destroying nature would weaken him, but he'd still be really strong. However, in his realm?" Ranma shook his head. "Thankfully, he's pretty calm and understanding, so long as you don't insult him."

"How did you meet him? For that matter, how did you meet the Fae at all?" Issei asked.

"The guy who taught Lilith and myself magic decided to take us to the Fae realm." Ranma told him. "I annoyed one of the Fae and got tied to a rock and made to think there were cats everywhere. Went crazy and did some stuff. Ended up waking up in front of Oberon, who apparently found what I did amusing and forgave me for destroying a chunk of their realm and injuring a few Fae in the process."

"Then..." Issei stood up. "There's a chance to get Asia back." More than one person looked at him like he was crazy. "You said it yourself! He doesn't seem to be as bad as the others, so maybe..."

"I called him a scary alien and he laughed, but he finds me having Lindy play the role of a sprite offensive, Issei." Ranma told him. "Whatever your logic is, it doesn't apply to him. He doesn't think the same way that you or I do." He sighed at the crushed look on Issei's face. "That said, you might be able to convince Titania."

"...Why?" Issei asked him in confusion.

"She's half human." Lilith told him. "Or at least, she was forced to live among them so long that she understands humanity more than most Fae. Some of the first generation Fae that were still alive complained about Oberon marrying the "human tainted one" or some such."

"So give it a try, you might need to show him that you're worth his time." Ranma told Issei. "But, Issei, while I wish you luck, I want you to know that he might just decide to take Asia with him and there's little you can do about it." Issei looked troubled and nodded. "...Just keep it in mind, but if there's anyone who can talk sense into someone like Oberon, it's you." Ranma smiled at Issei's shocked look. "Hey, knowing you, you could talk a genocidal slime girl who hates all of humanity out of killing people simply because you think one of her slimes is cute or something."

"That sounds ridiculous." Rias muttered. "...But for some reason, I could see Issei doing that."

"Um..." Miko spoke up. "Fae are related to Fairies, right?"

"What most people call fairies are actually Sprites." Ranma told her. "Why?"

"If that's the case, then maybe there's a way to protect yourselves from them." Miko smiled at the looks she got. "See, awhile ago, there were some fairies that took over the Shikima realm for awhile trying to get to the Heart of the Skimia realm and they were really strong, but there was a potion that we made that helped us resist their magic." She grimaced at the hopeful looks she was getting. "But the key ingredients only grow in the Shikima realm, so..."

Ranma sighed and nodded. "Alright, we'll call your father in a little bit." He turned back to the screen. "Now, I need something from you, Azazel." The blonde man raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I'm going to need every advantage I can get here."

"Of course." He nodded.

(-)

Meanwhile...

Cassiel walked up to a large cross in the edge of the room. On it, chained up, was Gabriel, who was looking sad, her outfit was in tatters and barely holding her modesty together. "I truly am sorry, Lady Gabriel. But why did you..."

"Agree to go with you when looking back it was pretty obvious that it was a trap?" Gabriel asked as she raised her head. "Part of me was doing what I felt was needed to help humanity. If there was someone who was under a forceful possession by a stray Devil or from a member of the Old Satan Faction that even you couldn't free, then any reservations I had would only cause harm to the person." Gabriel gave Cassiel a sad smile. "My question is why? Why would you, someone I was considering to be my replacement in case something happened to me, betray Heaven?"

Cassiel shook her head. "Lady Gabriel, you have it wrong. I didn't betray Heaven. You did." The blonde Seraph looked confused as Cassiel continued. "You gave up your role as the Angel of Destruction to be the Angel of Chastity. Yet... And yet..." She balled her hands into fists. "You would simply throw it away because someone exists who is the descendant of Azrael? Someone who betrayed Heaven to fornicate with a Devil?" Tears formed in Cassiel's eyes as she trembled. "Why? Why would you give up everything? Even if you and him fall in love with each other, any children you would have would be tainted!"

"Why would you think that?" Gabriel asked her softly.

"Why else would you seek a courtship with him if not to have his children?!" Cassiel yelled as Gabriel looked utterly baffled. "I do not understand how you could throw away your position, just... Just because he made you feel weird!"

"I don't understand." Gabriel said softly. "I tried hard to not let my feelings interfere with my work in Heaven. I have only been able to meet up with him for two dates."

"And that's two dates too many!" Cassiel yelled as she turned and walked away. "Hopefully, Lady Gabriel, when this is over, you can forget about him." She continued to walk away, stopping at the door and looking back at Gabriel, "like you did your brother."

After Cassiel left and closed the door, leaving Gabriel alone, the Seraph struggled and let herself go limp when she realized that the chains were somehow blocking her ability to even call upon her Heavenly power. "But how are you not a Fallen?" From what she could tell, Cassiel was still a pure Angel. 'But that shouldn't be possible.'

If she managed to get out of this, she was going to have to investigate. 'If there's a way to betray Heaven and not become Fallen, it must be discovered and stopped or more Pure Angels will become Fallen.' And Heaven resources were stretched thin enough as it was.

Part of her wondered if maybe they should have had Lilith reboot God's system enough that new Angels could be born. 'Even though there would be a strong chance that they would become Fallen, surely it wouldn't have been so bad as to have the people reject Heaven, right?'

End Chapter 10

Poor Gabriel